International Law



Analyse the role of:

UN (Jajtika)


Courts and Tribunals (Lauren)

International court of Justice (ICJ)
The ICJ consists of 15 judges who each represent a different geographical region for international law. Within this court the ICJ decides on disputes that are brought to it by member nations and offers legal advice in regards to international law when it is requested by one of the member nations. When the ICJ becomes involved in a case the nations must understand the rights of the court to settle this dispute. There are three reasons for this:

1. Special agreement-agreement made in relation to the issue
2. A clause in the treaty-nations have nominated within the treaty that the ICJ will solve disputes
3. A unilateral declaration-nations that have accepted the jurisdiction (authority to decide on a matter) of the court at all times.

The ICJ is very helpful when resolving a dispute before it escalates into a major issues and possibly even war. They help to protect the global environment and human rights within international law.


War Tribunals
These are special courts that operate under a system called ad hoc meaning they are established when they are needed. These courts are set up in order to try an individual who has been accused of a war crime or one against humanity. They aim to keep the individual within the rules of war when involved in conflict.

International criminal court (ICC)
This court was created in 2002 through a treaty known as the Rome Statute. Currently there are about 110 countries involved in this stature and so are bound by any court rulings. The ICC is a permanent court which deals with cases of individuals accused of the worst international crimes like for example a serious war crime. They do not hear a case what is investigated by another body unless they deem that organisation to be dealing with the case unfairly.


Intergovenmental organisations (Emily S)


Non Govenrment Organisations (Zoe)